Pakistan Sports Minister Threatens Withdrawal from ODI World Cup if India Does Not Participate in Asia Cup
Pakistan Sports Minister Ehsaan Mazari has issued a warning stating that Pakistan will withdraw from the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 if the Indian cricket team refuses to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup scheduled to begin on August 31. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) recently announced that Pakistan and Sri Lanka would jointly co-host the Asia Cup after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expressed its inability to send their team across the border, citing denial of permission from the Indian government.
Mazari, who oversees the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), expressed his personal opinion that if India demands to play their Asia Cup matches at a neutral venue, Pakistan will also demand the same for their World Cup games in India. The Asia Cup is scheduled to have four matches in Pakistan and nine matches in Sri Lanka. India, Pakistan, and Nepal have been grouped together, while Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are in the second group.
Mazari strongly opposes the hybrid model that would see India playing all their games in Sri Lanka. He believes that as the host country, Pakistan has the right to hold all the matches within its borders. He emphasized that this is what cricket lovers in Pakistan want, rejecting the concept of a hybrid model.
In relation to the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee led by Foreign Minister Bilal Bhutto Zardari to discuss Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in India from October 5. Mazari stated that the committee, comprising 11 ministers including himself, would discuss the issue and provide recommendations to the Prime Minister, who is also the patron-in-chief of the PCB. The final decision regarding Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup rests with the Prime Minister.
Mazari further accused India of mixing sports and politics and dismissed concerns about security. He highlighted recent examples of international teams, such as New Zealand and England, successfully touring Pakistan with presidential-level security arrangements. Mazari believes that security concerns raised by India are merely an excuse, especially since the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been held successfully with the participation of numerous foreign players.
Next week, there will be an International Cricket Council meeting in South Africa, which will be attended by BCCI Secretary and ACC Chairman Jay Shah, as well as PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf. Mazari dismissed reservations expressed by former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi about India hosting a match between Pakistan and India in Ahmedabad during the ODI World Cup. While he does not see Ahmedabad as an issue, Mazari insisted that India must first respond positively and agree to play in Pakistan.
In conclusion, the Pakistan Sports Minister’s threat to withdraw from the ODI World Cup if India does not participate in the Asia Cup has added a new twist to the cricketing relations between the two countries. The upcoming ICC meeting in South Africa will likely shed more light on the situation and determine the course of action for both nations. The debate over neutral venues, security concerns, and the desire for a fair and balanced tournament continues to dominate discussions between the cricket boards of Pakistan and India.
